The Strain Page 3

  “So we have to come up with something,” Dean said.

  “Time travel is still raw,” Hank said. “In this time it is not sophisticated yet. Procedures for correcting ripples haven’t been devised. Heck the Hoi-Racer isn’t invented for another thirty years.”

  Both Dean and Lars looked at him at the same time.

  “Hoi-Racer?” Lars asked.

  “Did you just use the word heck?” asked Dean.

  “Yes and yes,” replied Hank.

  “What exactly is the Hoi-Racer?” asked Lars.

  “Standard issue equipment to all Time Enforcers. Recently model C-1127 was updated to C1200 to incorporate half seconds, which I feel is a waste of time and an extra step needed. I mean, what’s a second. It’s not much.”

  “Okay, Dean said. “But what exactly does it do?”

  “Erases the memory of a given time frame. We were supposed to do it with the people 10-A-A-422 used as a distraction but he opted for a rave.”

  “None of this is making sense,” Lars said. “A rave.”

  “So wait.” Dean held up his hand. “You use it as enforcers.”

  “We follow the traveler, if say he or she was back in time for fifteen minutes we set the Hoi-Racer for fifteen minutes. Personally I add a few second to be on the safe said.”

  “And you set it on site?” Dean asked.

  “Yes, you ... hold on. I’ll show you.” Hank reached into a pocket hooked on his belt.

  “I thought that was your phone,” Dean said.

  Hank shook his head. “No. Here.” He showed him the short black device. Above the LCD display were five tiny green buttons. “These set seconds, hours, days. I would not go further than three days. It really messes with people. When it’s set, you aim and point. If I wanted to make you forget about this. I’d set it for thirty seconds, like this.” Hank demonstrated. “Easy.”

  “Amazing,” Lars said. “And the person forgets the previous thirty seconds.”

  “Or however long you set it.”

  “And you just press the button?” asked Dean.

  Hank turned it over. “Use your forefinger.”

  “Dean,” Frank called out suddenly in the lab. “Hey.”

  Dean jolted from the surprise call of his name. He lifted his eyes to Hank. “May I see it?”

  “Sure.” Hank handed it over.

  “Dean.” Frank called again.

  “Hey, Frank.” Dean turned around and lifted a device.

  “Why are you taking a picture of me?”

  Dean pressed the button. It flashed blue, like an old fashion flash bulb.

  Frank froze.

  “Frank?” Dean called him.

  “Whoa.” Frank looked around. “Whoa.”

  “What?” Dean asked.

  “I totally don’t remember fucking walking in here.”

  “You’ll have that,” Dean said.

  “Yeah.”

  “What’s up?” Dean asked.

  “Oh, yeah, I’m back.”

  “I see that.”

  “And my father ran away from home, so Danny is in charge. My dad fired me.” Frank turned, took a step, stopped and turned back around. “Is he gonna be hanging around?” he pointed to Hank.

  “Your clone?” Dean asked. “Yes. Why?”

  “Since I am unemployed, I need a me to walk a beat. If he’s gonna try to look like me, he might as well be like me, right. Clone,” Frank said.

  “Hank.” Dean corrected.

  “Hank, Yeah.” Frank snapped his finger. “We start training today.”

  “Frank?” Lars called him. “Won’t people get a little suspicious if they see you running around with your clone?”

  “Nah, people already know about him and how Dean created him to kill me off and put him in my place. Which is fucking stupid, he looks nothing like me.” Frank walked out.

  “Hmm.” Lars hummed. “And he wonders why he’s unemployed. Do you suppose it will be a problem getting permission to time travel?”

  “Not at all.”

  “Time travel is illegal,” Hank said. “Can I have my Hoi-Racer back?”

  Dean gave a smug smile and shook his head. “Not on your life.”

  “Dean? Question. Did you really create Hank so you could kill off Frank?” Lars asked.

  Dean laughed. “No. No. But I will tell you this. I am keeping him heathy and alive,” Dean said. “So I can one day save Frank.”

  FOUR

  Joe managed to slip unnoticed through town. It was a hard adjustment both physically and emotionally after returning from his first time trip to see Robbie. Physically he returned as soon as he stepped out of the Social Hall, but it was suddenly bright and warmer. Emotionally, Joe was spent.

  He spotted Dan from Security’s jeep parked outside of Containment and took that. But Joe didn’t leave town, he headed out toward the quantum lab to see Jason.

  “Well?” Jason asked.

  “I’ll tell ya.” Joe shook his head, still in a stunned state, then lit a cigarette. “It was a stepping stone to healing.”

  “I figured it would be.”

  “It took everything I had not to break down, hold him, all that other stuff. But once I got over the initial shock, I was able to really take in the moment and enjoy my son. Plus, grief sometimes makes you remember people differently. This is an eye opener.”

  “So, since you are on the path to healing. Think you’ll talk to Frank?”

  “Not yet. I did however apologize to him for the way I’ve been acting.”

  “That’s good,” Jason said. “Did he say anything?”

  “Not really.”

  “That’s because you apologized to him when you went back.”

  “Yep.”

  Jason smiled. “Still leaving Beginnings?”

  Joe lifted the time device. “Nah. Not at all. But I think I will take some time and hide out. Stay at the trailer, work on seeing Robbie and getting through this.”

  “Sounds like a plan. I’ll pop in and check out you. I’m headed into town in a few. Did you need anything?”

  “No, but if you don’t mind. Can you take Dan’s jeep back and leaving it somewhere in the square. I want to get it back there before someone thinks it’s stolen.”

  “Joe, please, it’s Beginnings,” Jason said. “Even in Beginnings people know nothing gets stolen.”

  <><><><>

  “It’s twenty-four hundred people,” Elliott said as he walked through Beginnings with Hal. “That’s a lot for one person.”

  “True, but Jess knows the containment process. I can’t put Richie there, Lord knows what he’ll have them doing. We need to determine how many of them can actually serve as soldiers for us.” He peered up to the sky at the sound of a plane. “I guess that’s Mick and the others headed back east.”

  “Actually, just Mick and Bertha,” Elliott said. “Tigger is helping with Twenty-Four Hundred and Lars is staying behind because of the health crisis.”

  “Should they be leaving then? Couldn’t they potentially that the bacteria back east?”

  “Lars cleared them.”

  “What about the others showing the bacteria?” Hal asked.

  “We have two quarantine buses on their way. They are prepping a wing at the clinic. Captain, we are going to have to alert people of this crisis.”

  Hal sighed out. “I know. And I probably picked a bad time to tell my father to step down for a while.”

  “I wouldn’t presume to point out your errors, Captain.”

  Hal grumbled.

  “And before you ask. We haven’t had word of your father. As Frank suggested, no one left. And he would have left on foot. All jeeps were accounted for. So there’s no way he left Beginnings.”

  “Hal!”

  Hal looked up at the call of his voice to see Dan from Security running his way

  “Dan, what’s going on?”

  “We have a criminal loose in Beginnings,” Dan said, catching his breath. “Someone stole my jeep.
”

  Hal faced Elliott. “You were saying?”

  <><><><>

  It brought back painful memories for Ellen and it wasn’t even out of control. Only a few patients had been moved to the special quarantine wing, but Ellen had a feeling it would grow.

  It wasn’t long before when they were battling the Society and a biological weapon had been dropped on Beginnings. One so potent, most in Beginnings had fallen ill. Had Dean not developed a cure, most in Beginning would have died.

  Many did die including her own child.

  When Ellen lost Taylor and Josh to the first plague, she never wanted to go through that again. Yet, she did. It was devastating when she lost her son, Brian. Now she faced it, yet once more. It was something from the future, something only the modern medicine of the past could beat. Even though they had a time machine, she wasn’t sure there was enough time to figure out how the past could cure the present.

  “I don’t know,” Ellen spoke with a heavy sigh and faced Danny and Jimmy just inside the double fire doors to the wing.

  “Ellen, we just started working on this,” Danny told her. “As soon as things settle with Twenty-Four town and Lars got word to me, we started this.”

  “We are reinforcing the door, diverting the ventilation,” Jimmy added. “We will make this a BSL 4 area.”

  “Don’t forget about decontamination,” Danny said. “We’re adding that, too. We will work around the clock.”

  “I know. I know.” Ellen held up her hand. “It’s not your efforts. It’s this bacteria. It’s everywhere. We don’t have the hazmat outfits to be safe. And, any that remain from the original plague are useless. We need to quarantine a health care worker in here just to halt any further spread.”

  “Let’s get this done first,” Danny said.

  “I’ll oversee it,” Jimmy said. “Danny has a lot on his plate again, being acting leader.”

  “Acting leader?” Ellen asked. “Where’s Joe?”

  “He took a leave,” Jimmy replied. “I guess that’s what you want to call it. He stepped down. Frank handles the military side.”

  “Awfully bad time to step down,” Ellen said. “I understand with Robbie dying, it’s hard to focus, but he needs to be on board, right now. Jimmy, can you talk to him?”

  “I wish I could. He left Beginnings.”

  Ellen crinkled her nose. “There’s no way he left Beginnings. Where would he go?” Just as she said that, she noticed Dean walking her way. “Dean, did you hear anything about Joe leaving Beginnings.”

  “Joe left Beginnings?” Dean asked. “I didn’t hear that. I was busy getting more antibodies from Hank and talking about the time trip.”

  “What time trip?” Danny asked.

  “Collectively….” Dean pointed to Ellen. “Along with Forest, Jason, Roy, we decided that the best course of action to beat this bacteria is to go back when there were real antibiotics. We think if we can treat the bacterial infection before it turns viral, we can beat this thing before it wipes us out.”

  Jimmy held up his hand. “So let me get this straight. You want to go back in time to get antibiotics for roughly a hundred people? Some antibiotics don’t react the same with everyone.”

  “We’re going to try to get multiple strains. Get multiple prescriptions.”

  Danny inched back and blinked in shock. “It really sounds like a stretch. And a lot of antibiotics to get. There has to be an easier way to beat this thing.”

  “Surely with a time machine,” Jimmy added. “There’s another solution.”

  “If you have another answer, we’re up for it,” Dean said.

  “We need to have a meeting about it all,” Danny said. “I mean, the infection, the twenty-four hundred, maybe a way to thwart this. Can you give me until tomorrow morning? We’ll get everyone together, come up with a plan and initiate it.”

  “Yes, but we have to do something right away. We can’t delay. We are staving off the bacteria with what we have for a couple days. But that won’t last and every day we delay, is more people that will get sick.” Dean motioned his hand around the hall. “No matter how much we try to contain it.”

  Danny nodded. “I understand. I’ll get a hold of everybody. Do we know where Frank is?”

  “Last I knew Hank was leaving to meet him,” Dean replied. “Some sort of training. He says Hank has to be like him.”

  Jimmy laughed. “Why in God’s name does he want that?”

  Dean shrugged. “Who knows why your brother does what he does,” he said. “He’s Frank.”

  <><><><>

  “I am.”

  “And other that strong,” Hank said, “Are you brave?”

  Frank nodded. “I am. I’m also fast.”

  “As am I.”

  “Not surprising. I’m the fastest man in Beginnings.”

  “And I am the fastest man in my division.”

  “As well, as you should be,” Frank said. “We need to race.”

  “Where?”

  “Each other.”

  “Why?” Hank asked.

  “To see who is fastest. Not yet, not during training. It could be an ego blow if one of us lose.”

  “We are very much alike,” Hank said.

  “Exactly. That’s why I am training you. If you are gonna fill in for me you have to be like me.”

  “It should be easy.”

  “You would think.”

  “Frank, I have trained my entire life. That is all I did was train.”

  “Think of this more like on the job training. You may have trained your whole life, but have you trained to be in Beginnings?”

  “No.” Hank shook his head.

  “Then this is new training. Well, stuff you probably fucking did before, but think of it as new because you are doing it for Beginnings.” In Frank’s mind, he was planning the ultimate task force. Seeing that Hank was his clone, that meant two of Frank was better than one. What better way to start training than to see what Hank knew? They were on the shooting range and just as Frank as about to text Hank, his phone rang. “Hold on.” He told Hank and answered it. “Yeah, Hal.”

  “Where are you?”

  “I’m in the security training region with Hank my clone.”

  “Did you take a jeep?” Hal asked. “One that was on the street in front of Containment?”

  “No. We walked. Why?”

  “We have a missing jeep,” Hal said.

  “It has to be in Beginnings.”

  “It’s not.”

  “Then call the gates, see how many issued jeeps left Beginnings.”

  “Can you do that?” Hal asked.

  “No, I cannot. I called tracking for you earlier to ask about Dad. You handle this. It’s not my job.”

  “Frank, it is your job.”

  “Uh, Hal? I was fired this morning. By Dad. Remember?” Frank asked.

  “Oh, stop. You aren’t fired.”

  “I am.” He lowered the phone and whispered to Hank. “Notice how I snuck that in there. I try to irritate him by saying, ‘I am’ as much as possible.”

  “Then I unfired you,” said Hal.

  “You can’t do that. You aren’t in charge.”

  “I’m in charge of New Bowman.”

  “But not Beginnings,” Frank said. “And I think I will enjoy my unemployment. Maybe even collect unemployment Danny Dollars.”

  “There’s no such thing,” Hal barked. “Now, I need your help finding Dad.”

  “I’m already on it. An active search is already happening.”

  “So you’re looking for him now?” Hal asked.

  “No. I’m training Hank.”

  “Training Hank.”

  “Yeah, my clone,” Frank said.

  “I know who Hank is. How are you looking for Dad when you’re training Hank?”

  “Hal. I started a very sophisticated search process. It needs to take hold and then we will find him. Right now, anything else is not my problem.”

  “Because yo
u’re unemployed.”

  “I am.” Frank winked at Hank and whispered, “I did it again.”

  “Frank. There’s no such thing as being unemployed in Beginnings.”

  “Did Dad fire me?” Frank asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Then I’m unemployed. But … if you need to hire my services, I am available, for ten Danny Dollars a day. Under the table because I don’t want it affecting my unemployment.”

  “Frank, you’re ridiculous.”

  Frank grinned. “I am.” He hung up the phone and looked at Hank. “Where were we?”

  <><><><>

  Hal stared at his phone.

  “Captain?” Elliott questioned.

  “He hung up on me. Claimed he was unemployed and was no longer working.”

  “Your father did relieve him of duty.”

  “Elliott, this is Beginnings. No one loses their job. I swear everyone here is insane.”

  “Captain, they’re just quirky.”

  “Quirky. Hmm,” Hal said as he walked out of the Clinic with Elliott and stopped when a jeep pulled up. “Why does Jason have a jeep? Check the information Mark gave you. See if he was issued one.”

  Elliott pulled out his notepad. “Nope. Not seeing his name.”

  “Maybe we found our thief.”

  “That would mean your father didn’t take it.”

  Hal forced a closed mouth smile and walked down toward Jason. “Dr. Godrichson, I assume you got word about the meeting tomorrow?”

  Jason lifted his phone. “I did. I just received the message.”

  “Wonderful. By chance, would that be Dan’s jeep?”

  “Yes, it is, I was bringing it back.”

  “We’ve been looking for it,” Hal said.

  “The Captain and I were under the impression it was stolen. That’s what Dan had told us.”

  Jason smirked. “Well, maybe Dan has a case of the brain flu again, because he loaned it to me. Now if you’ll will excuse me gentlemen, I have extinction to thwart.” He stepped between Hal and Elliot and walked up the stairs.

  “I hate everyone in this town,” Hal quipped, turned and walked toward the Joe Park. “Get a hold of Dan, tell him the jeep is back and that he’s an idiot.”